Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Miami’s Federal School Code for all campuses is 003077.

If you have already submitted a FAFSA to another college, you will need to add our federal school code to the FAFSA in the School Selection section of the application. Students can list up to 20 schools on their FAFSA.

If completing the FAFSA application online, you will need your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID to log into the Federal Student Aid site. If you forgot your FSA ID username or password, visit FAFSA.gov’s What if I forgot my FSA ID username and password? page for your next steps.

If you are a dependent student, your parent(s) will also need to log in to the Federal Student Aid site to provide consent to obtain their personal and financial information and to electronically sign the application. The spouse of an independent student (if applicable) will also need to use their FSA ID to provide consent to Federal Tax Information (FTI). The student, parent(s), and spouse (if applicable) should create their own FSA ID if they do not already have one.

FAFSA applications completed online will require all contributors to provide consent and electronically sign the FAFSA with their FSA ID. If consent and signature are not provided electronically, the FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) can be printed and signed, and mailed to the FAFSA Processing System (FPS). This could add up to two weeks to your processing time.

Students who do not have an FSA ID will need to create an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA. In addition, students and/or parents will need the FSA ID to electronically sign the FAFSA.

• There is a new process for parents and spouses without a Social Security number to obtain an FSA ID. This will speed up FAFSA processing time because they will be able to submit the form online. For more information, visit How to Get an FSA ID for Individuals Without a Social Security Number.

Student applicants completing the FAFSA should select the role of “Student” when completing the FAFSA and remember to provide their name, social security number, date of birth, etc.

Students will have the ability to invite contributors (parent(s), spouse) to provide information on the FAFSA. Contributors will need to log in with their own FSA ID to provide their information. To invite a contributor, the student will need to provide the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. The student’s answers on the FAFSA form will determine if any contributors need to be identified.

A legal parent includes a biological parent, an adoptive parent, or a person that the state has determined to be your parent (for example, when a state allows another person’s name to be listed as a parent on a birth certificate). Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters, widowed stepparents, and aunts and uncles aren’t considered parents unless they’ve legally adopted you.

Your “Custodial Parent” is now the parent who provides you with the most financial support. It will no longer be the parent with whom you lived with the most over the past 12 months.

Visit StudentAid.gov’s Who is considered a parent? and the Reporting Parent Information pages for more information.

• Tax Returns
• Records of child support received
• Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms

All contributors on the FAFSA must provide consent to retrieve and disclose federal tax information (FTI). If consent is not provided by all contributors that have been identified to report information on the FAFSA, the student will be ineligible for federal student aid, including grants and loans. Consent is also required for non-tax filers, or individuals that filed a foreign return.

Use the student’s legal name as it appears on his or her social security card. Parent(s) must also be sure to use their legal name as it appears on their social security card.

Carefully check your social security number. If incorrect, you will be required to submit additional documentation after the FAFSA is processed. You may even have to complete a new FAFSA to correct the error.

You should always use yearly income amounts. Do not use monthly amounts. For example, if you receive $200 workers compensation each month, you should report $2,400.

Don’t skip questions or assume that we will know the answer to a particular question. If your answer is zero then use “0.”

The Direct Data Exchange (DDX) is a tool that allows you to consent for the exchange of federal tax information into your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The process enables the FAFSA to retrieve income and tax data directly from the IRS. This capability ensures the most accurate information is reported on the applicant’s FAFSA.

If you believe that your tax data is not an accurate representation of your current financial status, please contact the One Stop on your campus. 

If you completed the FAFSA online, you can check the status in about one week. If you submitted a paper FAFSA, please allow 2–3 weeks before checking the status.

Your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) summarizes the information on your FAFSA and identifies your Student Aid Index (SAI). The schools that you listed on your FAFSA will receive the information you submitted and use it to determine your eligibility for financial aid. Receiving your FSS does not mean that your FAFSA was accepted or that you are eligible for financial aid.

Visit StudentAid.gov’s Learn About the FAFSA Submission Summary page for more information.

Your Student Aid Index (SAI) is determined from the information provided on your FAFSA. Schools use your SAI to calculate your financial need and determine what types of financial aid you are eligible to receive.

Visit our Appeals page if you have extenuating circumstances that impact your family's ability to pay for higher education, such as high medical costs or recent unemployment.

It is important to correct any errors on your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS). Incorrect information can impact your financial aid eligibility. To make corrections to your FSS, log into StudentAid.gov with your FSA ID. Keep in mind the following:

• Social Security number—If the number is wrong, you must complete a new application.
• Marital status—Check with your school's Financial Aid Office if changes are needed.

Visit StudentAid.gov’s How To Correct or Update Your FAFSA Form page for more information or watch the below video.

The U.S. Department of Education and many schools may require that you verify some of the data on your FAFSA to ensure its accuracy. Typically, financial aid is not disbursed until the verification process is complete. For more information, visit our Federal Verification page.

Due to the the FAFSA Simplification Act, Students and families will see a different measure of their ability to pay for college, and they will experience a change in the methodology used to determine aid. While in some cases the FAFSA simplification could increase some students’ financial aid eligibility, others may see a decrease in aid.

• The formula for calculating financial need is: Cost of attendance - Student Aid Index (SAI) = financial need.
• The new need-analysis formula:
  • removes the number of family members in college from the calculation. (This may reduce need-based aid eligibility for current students with siblings in college.)
  • allows a minimum SAI of -$1,500.
  • implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants based on federal poverty levels and family size.
• Child support received will be included in assets and not as untaxed income.
• The net worth of a farm now includes the value of a family farm. 

You’ll notice the number of questions on the FAFSA has decreased from over 108 to 36 and there is an easier way to transfer tax information directly from the IRS. You’ll also notice a few new terms/definitions:

• Contributor: anyone who is asked to provide information on the FAFSA (student, spouse, student’s parent(s) and/or stepparents(s)) and consent (each contributor will need to consent to their information being included on the FAFSA).
• Student Aid Index (SAI): The SAI has replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as the eligibility index used to determine your eligibility for federal, and in some instances, state and institutional need-based student financial aid.
• Federal Taxpayer Information (FTI): FAFSA contributors (student and spouse or parent/stepparent, as applicable) must give the U.S. Department of Education (ED) consent to retrieve federal tax information (FTI) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for purposes of determining a student’s eligibility for Title IV federal student aid. If the student, spouse, or parent fails to provide consent, the student is not eligible for Title IV aid, no exceptions. The retrieval of FTI by the the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT), will be replaced by the Direct Data Exchange (DDX) and FTI will be stored separately in the Federal Tax Information Module (FTIM).
• Custodial Parent: Is now the parent who provides you with the most financial support and will no longer be the parent with who you lived with the most over the past 12 months.
• Provisional Independent Student Determination: Foster, homeless, and unaccompanied youth—as well as applicants who cannot provide parental information—can complete the form with a provisional independent student determination and receive a calculated SAI.

Some additional changes

• There is a new process to get an FSA ID for parents and spouses without a Social Security number. This will speed up FAFSA processing time as they’ll be able to submit the form online. There will be two-step verification and all FAFSA contributors must have an FSA ID to log into the online form. For more information, visit the How to Get an FSAID for Individuals without a Social Security Number page.
• The FAFSA Simplification Act expands the Federal Pell Grant to more students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level.
• Students can list up to 20 schools on their FAFSA.
• Students who qualify for a dependency override due to homelessness or not being able to access their parents’ financials, no longer need to recertify their dependency status each year, unless their situation changes.
• Male students under the age of 26 are no longer required to register with the Selective Service System to receive federal financial aid.
  • Please note that male students must register with Selective Service in order to receive in-state tuition and for state aid eligibility.
• Applicants will be asked to report their sex, race, and ethnicity on the FAFSA itself, but students will be offered a choice of “Prefer Not to Answer.” Schools and states will not see responses to these questions on the FAFSA.